US outlasts Czech Republic in 4-3 shootout at world juniors; Sweden beats Canada 2-0 in showdown

Sweden's Hugo Hävelid, left, and Canada's Matthew Savoie in action... — Sweden's Hugo Hävelid, left, and Canada's Matthew Savoie in action during the IIHF World Junior Championship group A ice hockey match between Canada and Sweden at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. Credit: AP/Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT

By The Associated PressUpdated December 29, 2023

GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Isaac Howard opened the scoring and added the shootout winner as the United States outlasted the Czech Republic 4-3 on Friday at the world junior hockey championship, while Sweden beat Canada 2-0 for its third straight shutout.

Howard beat Michael Hrabal in the seventh round of the tiebreaker. The Michigan State sophomore scored 1:12 into the game. At 3-0, the Americans are tied with Slovakia for the Group B lead with the teams set to meet Sunday in the round-robin finale.

In Group A, Hugo Havelid made 16 saves and Tom Willander and Noah Ostlund scored in Sweden’s victory over Canada (2-1). Sweden hasn’t given up a goal through three games, winning by a combined 13-0.

Gabe Perreault also scored for the United States in the shootout, connecting in the fifth round to keep the tiebreaker going. Jacob Fowler made 20 saves and stopped six of seven shots in the shootout, allowing only Jiri Kulich's goal in the third round.

Will Smith and Ryan Chesley also scored in regulation, with Chesley tying at 3 with 5:49 left in the second period. Adam Bares, Robin Sapousek and Jakub Stancl scored for the Czechs (1-1-1). Hrabal made 30 saves.

U.S. goalie Trey Augustine missed the game because of illness, forcing Fowler into a back-to-back after an 11-3 victory over Switzerland on Thursday.

Slovakia topped Norway 8-4 on Friday, with Servac Petrovsky and Dalibor Dvorsky each finishing with two goals and two assists.

Also, Finland beat Latvia 4-0. Noa Vali made 23 saves for the Finns (1-2).